Stop Right There
by xaghra
Summary: Hotel maid Rachel Berry is just trying get through life and make this month's rent when she is suddenly swept up in the music industry and end up as the opening act for one of the hottest bands in the world. Front man Noah 'Puck' Puckerman is not pleased with Rachel's presence on the tour. However, things begin to change as they tour the world together.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the very first story that I have ever posted so I am a little bit nervous. I have a lot of ideas for this story as well as others, so I hope that you all like it. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions, even criticisms, as long as they are constructive. Reviews will inspire to me write! Also, I am looking for a beta if anyone is interested, please let me know!

Disclaimer: Do not own Glee.

Will Schuester stepped out of his hotel room and entered into the awaiting elevator without looking up from his blackberry. His assistant who had been holding the elevator pressed the lobby button and handed Will his large black coffee. After finishing his email Will took the coffee and nodded his thanks. Just as Will finished taking his first sip the elevator dinged, signally that they had reached the lobby.

Quickly exiting the elevator Will strode across the lobby towards the conference room, his assistant shuffling behind him trying to keep up. In his perfectly tailored suit and Italian loafers, coffee and blackberry in hand, it was clear to everyone in the lobby that Will was a powerful man and they quickly got out of his way.

Today Will was a man on a mission. Just under three years ago he had found Noah 'Puck' Puckerman playing in a small dive bar in LA. From the moment he had heard Puck's voice and seen the careless confidence he performed with Will knew he had just found his newest star.

It had been easy to convince Puck to sign on with Will's label New Directions and after finding a few guys to back him up on instruments Will had formed Needless Addiction. After three years of hard work the band had both of their albums reach number one and were gearing up to start their second world tour in just under a month.

Everything was set for tour rehearsals to begin, everything other than the opening act. On the last world tour Will had used a small unknown band, but their sound just wasn't anything the caught on, so this time Will wanted to try something different. He wanted a female singer as the opening act.

When he had first shared this idea with the band Puck and all the other guys refused. They were a rock band and thought that having a girl open for them would make them look like "pussies" as they had so colourfully stated. However, Will was set in his decision and had reminded the band that ultimately the final decision up to him and he wanted a female opening act.

Will knew that if he could just find the right female voice that everyone would understand his vision and the opening act would no longer be something the audience had to sit through, but something they could enjoy before the main event. However, finding the right female was proving to be a bit of an issue.

There was less than a month until the tour would start, which meant that the band would start having on stage rehearsals within the next few days, and Will still hadn't found his perfect female voice. He was starting to panic that they wouldn't find an act in time, but he refused to settle. Will had developed a reputation of being the best in the business and he was not going to risk that reputation with another unimpressive opening act.

This determination is what brought him to this hotel in New York City. After not finding anyone in LA after months of searching Will decided that maybe they just weren't looking in the right place. LA was filled with wannabe pop stars and Will didn't want a pop star, he wanted a woman with a voice that was powerful and strong, but sultry and feminine at the same time. It was a tall order, he knew that, but Will figured his best chance of finding what he was looking for would be to move the auditions to New York. So here he was starting his third day of auditions in New York and so far nothing.

After waiting for his lagging assistant to catch up and open the door for him Will entered the conference room. Upon entering Will paused to take in the scene in front of him. Two members of his team were seated at one end of the long table, on the other side of the room, looking over notes and quietly talking. Puck was in the corner shamelessly flirting with a hotel employee who was blushing and giggling. Sam, Mike, and Finn, the other band members, were sprawled out on chairs at the table, texting and listening to music.

Everyone but Puck looked up when they heard Will enter the room and stopped what they were doing. When it was clear that Puck's attention was still on the busty blonde, Will cleared his throat, calling everyone's eyes, including Puck's, to him.

"Good morning everyone," Will greeted as he walked further into the room, "I trust that you are all prepared for another day of auditions."

"I don't understand why we had to fly cross country to hear girls suck just as bad as they did back in LA," responded Puck.

"There are so many better, hotter things I could be doing right now," he continued, shooting the blonde a quick wink before turning and taking a seat at the middle of the table.

As the now severely blushing hotel clerk hurried past Will on her way out of the conference room, Will replied, "You don't have to be here Puck. We've already discussed this – _multiple_ times."

"Fuck man. I know. And trust me there a million fucking other things that I would rather be doing right now, but if we're not here then we get absolutely no say in which whiny little priss you choose to be our opening act," Puck said.

"While your faith in me is truly astounding, let's not go there this morning. I haven't had enough coffee to deal with that and we have a full day auditions ahead of us. Just please try to be nice to the girls Puck. All the other guys have been able to keep their opinions quiet at least until the girl has left the room. I would appreciate it if you could also do so, I don't want any more tears," retorted an unpleased Will.

"Fine, fine. I'll keep my mouth shut, but could you at least try to find a few girls who don't sound like you put a cat in a blender," requested Puck rolling his eyes.

Not bothering to dignify Puck's request with a response, Will continued on, "We have about five minutes before the first audition so let's all just sit and try to conjure up a positive attitude. I have a feeling today may be the day we find our opening act."

…

It had been over six grueling hours of auditions. They had written down a few girls to possibly call back, but Will knew that none of them were right. They had good voices, but they were always missing something. Either their voice wasn't powerful enough or it was too nasally or they didn't have a believable performance.

Will knew that his colleagues didn't understand why he was making such a big deal about finding the right opening act, but he was a perfectionist and the opening act on the last tour had been sub par and was no where near his usual standards. He hadn't even bothered to try and make an album with the band, knowing it would just be a waste of time and money.

This time though, Will was determined to find a strong female performer so that after gaining buzz from the tour he could put her into the recording studio to start making an album. Will was really trying to broaden New Directions' musical talent and adding a female that wasn't a highly auto-tuned pop star would do just that. Plus this tour would be like free marketing. He just had to find the girl.

After Puck had threatened to start throwing things if they didn't take a break, the team had decided it would be a good time for a dinner break. They had all gone out together and while Will didn't usually like to say bad things about people, unless it was constructive criticism, even he couldn't help but laugh at Puck's impressions of some of the girls.

They had had to sit through some pretty awful auditions, so Will was glad that the mood at the dinner table had been uplifted by Puck's impressions, even if they were a little cruel. After dinner they returned back to hotel and to the conference room for a few more hours of auditions.

However, before the auditions could start Will realized that he had left his phone in his jacket, which he had dropped off in his hotel room before coming back to the conference room. There was still a few more minutes before the last session of auditions started so Will excused himself from the conference room and quickly grabbed the elevator to his floor.

When Will reached the door to his room he saw that it was propped open by a cleaning cart. He stepped quickly into the room, just wanting to grab his phone and get back down to the conference room so that they could finish the auditions for the day. As he reached into his jacket pocket, feeling for his phone, he heard a soft humming coming from the adjoining bathroom. Will figured that that must be where the maid was.

Finally pulling his phone out of the pocket Will placed his jacket back on the chair where it was resting and was about to turn around and exit the room, when he heard it.

_Stop right there_

_Holy shit!_ thought Will! This is it. THIS is the voice he had been waiting for.

_I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me  
Will you love me forever  
Do you need me  
Will you never leave me  
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife  
Do you love me  
Will you love me forever_

_Do you need me  
Will you never leave me  
Will you make me happy for the rest of my life  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife  
I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me  
Will you love me forever_

As the voice finished belting out the powerful verse, it continued to lowly sing along to the song. Will stood there with his mouth agape. He had found it. He had finally found the voice he had been tirelessly searching for. Now he was anxious to see whom this amazing voice belonged to.

No sooner did he will for the powerhouse to reveal herself than did a small figure exit the bathroom still humming along with the song. When the petite woman saw she had an audience she froze, her eyes wide and her cheeks quickly colouring a deep shade of red.

Will stood there staring at the small woman with wonder. How such a large and powerful voice could come out of someone so small was astounding. The petite brunette standing in front of him was going to be Needless Addictions opening act and his next star. He knew it, now he just needed to get this incredible woman to agree.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! Things have been very hectic lately and I just never seemed to get the time to write or wasn't inspired when I did have a free moment. However, things have calmed down now so updates should be more frequent. Thank you so much for all of your kind reviews and please continue they the best source of motivation! I hope this at least partially makes up for the wait!

Disclaimer: Do not own Glee.

20-year-old Rachel Berry started scrubbing her last tub of the day. Pausing to wipe the light layer of sweat that had gathered on her brow, Rachel turned up the volume on her iPod and adjusted the earphones, as one of her all time favourite Meatloaf songs came on. Returning to her scrubbing Rachel thought back on the long day she had had. She had started her day with an early shift at the little coffee shop she worked at and then had come straight to the hotel to her second job as a maid. Her back and feet ached, reminding her that she had been working and on her feet for more than 12 hours. The thought of a shower and being able to fall into bed motivated Rachel to start scrubbing furiously at the tub until it gleamed.

After finishing with the tub Rachel turned to the vanity. Grabbing the designated cloth she began to wipe down the counter top and allowed herself to hum along with the song as the tempo started to pick up. Finishing cleaning the counter and sink with a speed and thoroughness that could only be achieved with much practice, Rachel turned to where her many different cleaning utensils and fluids rested on the floor. Setting down the cloth and spray bottle she had used for the vanity and grabbing the paper towel and glass cleaner needed for the mirror Rachel prepared for her favourite part of the song.

She loved hearing the powerful and sudden belt of the woman, as she demanded answers and promises. As the song progressed closer to the female solo Rachel became more and more caught up. Just as the female voice began Rachel quickly whipped around to face the mirror, holding the spray bottle like a microphone and began belting out the lyrics along with the woman singing in her ears.

_Stop right there_

Rachel thrashed her head from side to side and shook her hips with attitude, getting lost in the song and watching herself perform in the mirror.

_I gotta know right now_

She stuck out her chest and shoulders, shooting a demanding look in the mirror.

_Before we go any further  
Do you love me  
Will you love me forever  
Do you need me  
Will you never leave me  
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife_

Rachel continued to sing along with these quick lyrics, seductively running her hand over her body and shaking her hips.

_Do you love me  
Will you love me forever_

_Do you need me  
Will you never leave me  
Will you make me happy for the rest of my life  
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife_

As the quick tempo continued Rachel began to dance and move in frantic short movements, really feeling and expressing the woman's desperation for answers.

_I gotta know right now  
Before we go any further  
Do you love me  
Will you love me forever_

On the final line Rachel stuck out her hip and shot the mirror a challenging look, daring it to refuse to love her forever.

As Meatloaf's voice comes back on Rachel looked at herself in the mirror and softly laughed at her self, incredulous that she had just belted out a song like that in the middle of this hotel room bathroom. She didn't consider herself to have much talent when it came to singing, but she had always loved listening to music and would often sing along, it was fun to just let go and get lost in the song. Looking around the empty bathroom Rachel figured that she wasn't disturbing anyone so she allowed herself to once again sing along, although in a much quieter voice, as she wiped down the mirror.

Once finished the mirror Rachel took one last look around the bathroom, making sure that everything was clean and restocked, before picking up her cleaning supplies and exiting the bathroom still humming along as the song continued to play through her earphones.

As she stepped out of the bathroom Rachel immediately noticed the man standing in the room staring at her. She immediately froze and had to will herself not to drop all of cleaning products she was holding.

From the look he was giving her Rachel knew that he had heard her belting out the song earlier in the bathroom. Deeply blushing at the realization that her earlier "performance" had had an audience, Rachel stood there unmoving staring at the man, whom she assumed was the guest staying in this room.

_Oh my god! I cannot believe that a guest just heard me singing while cleaning their room. No doubt they will complain and I will probably lose my job. I can't get fired! I NEED this job to pay my rent. Oh my god, what am I going to do? This is horrible – wait why is he staring at me like that? Oh my god, I haven't even said anything yet. I've just been standing here like an idiot! Maybe if I apologize enough and offer him free soap and shampoo he won't complain. Yes! That's what I'll do. I'll just apologize, profusely and offer him free soap and shampoo._ All of these thoughts flew through Rachel's head in a matter of seconds, before she quickly put her plan into action.

Pulling out her earphones, careful not to drop anything, Rachel began to apologize, profusely.

"I am so sorry, Sir. I assure that this is not how we normally treat our guests. I have never done that before and I will never do it again. I truly apologize for any discomfort it may have caused you on behalf of the hotel and myself. The hotel does not approve of displays such as that and I never should have partaken in such an act while at work. I cannot convey to you how truly sorry I am for any disruption I caused to your stay here, but I assure it was not intentional and it will not happen again. Your comfort is the most important thing to this hotel and its employees and I apologize if I ever detracted from the enjoyment of your stay. Please -"

Rachel was so caught up in her apology that she didn't notice the smile that had broken out on Will's face.

Will had finally been broken out of his stupor once Rachel had started her long-winded apology.

Once he realized that this woman was not going to stop talking anytime soon Will cut in before she could continue any further.

"Oh, no. Please stop apologizing," Will said with a gentle smile, trying to calm the woman's obviously frazzles nerves.

"It was no problem at all. Really, you were amazing," he continued, "Better than anything I've heard in weeks. Actually, you could be the answer to the rather large problem I've been having."

Relieved that her job seemed to be safe, Rachel took a moment to reflect back on this man's last statement.

"Well I'm glad that I haven't disrupted your stay and I would be happy to be of assistance, but I don't understand how I could be the answer to one of your problems," Rachel questioned, while shooting Will a small and relieved, yet confused smile.

Sensing her confusing Will decided to introduce himself and tell her about his search for a female opening act – a search that would hopefully be over tonight if this woman agrees to go on tour.

"Oh, I apologize. My name is Will Schuester; I own the record label New Directions. I'm visiting from LA, actually," Will said, while sticking out his hand for the woman to shake.

"Rachel. Rachel Berry," Rachel introduced herself, while shaking Will's hand awkwardly as she tried not to drop all of the cleaning supplies in her arms.

She was still quite confused about how she could solve any problems of this obviously important and wealthy man. Couldn't he just pay someone and get whatever he needed done? What on earth could she possibly offer Will Schuester, owner of a record label?

Will could clearly see the confusion on Rachel's face and decided to answer her unasked question.

"One of the bands signed to my label is Needless Addiction. And as you may know they are set to start a world tour in less than a month," he started. "However, I have yet to find an opening act. My team and I have spent months searching for the right voice, but up until now haven't found anything suitable. It is extremely difficult to find a female performer that can cut it as an opening act for a rock band. Rehearsals are set to begin as soon as the band and my team return to LA, which is meant to be any day now, but I refuse to go back without an opening act. However, after today I don't think that I will have to worry about the opening act any longer. I think I've found exactly what I was looking for," Will said, smiling widely at the powerhouse he now knew to be Rachel Berry.

"Well I'm glad that you have found what you were looking for," Rachel said with a small polite smile, "But I don't understand what any of this has to do with me?"

Smiling widely at how clearly unaware this amazing young woman was of her talent, Will couldn't help but be proud of himself. He was the one to discover this truly amazing talent that without him might never have been recognized or utilized to its full potential.

"You have an incredible voice, truly like none I have ever heard before. I don't think that you even realize what a talent you have, but I do and I want you to be the opening act for Needless Addiction," Will said, giving Rachel an encouraging look.

After hearing her belt out that song, he just HAD to have her as the opening act. No one else would compare now, they would all be second rate – and that was just something Will did not do. He was known for the best and in this case Rachel Berry was the best. He could already picture the amazing hype she would generate after a year on tour with one of the world's biggest rock bands and then the amazing albums, all reaching number one that he could make with her. This was going to be better than any best case scenario he had thought of, Will just had to get Rachel to agree.

Rachel stood there truly shocked. Singing was just something she did for fun, while cleaning her apartment or cooking. She never thought of herself as having any talent. She just liked how free she felt when she would goof around singing and dancing, letting go of all the stress and pressure of life for those few minutes and getting lost in the song.

"Um…I…Well…Ah," Rachel stumbled over her words, something she never did.

Realizing that this must be quite a shock for the young woman standing before him, Will gave her a moment to collect herself before cutting in.

"I know that this is probably shocking for you, but trust me. I am one of the best in the business and your voice is one of the most powerful and unique female voices I have heard in years. You have something special and I think this tour could lead to a great career for you," Will said trying to entice Rachel into agreeing.

"I – I don't have any training. I've never even sung in front of a crowd before – friends sure, but never a crowd. What you heard was just me getting caught up in the song. Singing? Performing? As a career? For me? I don't think so. While I appreciate your compliments, aren't there girls who are trained and audition for this kind of thing? Why not pick one of them?" Rachel asked, completely overwhelmed by this man's proposal.

"You're right there are many girls who have trained their whole lives in hopes of making it in the industry. And I have heard many of them audition to be the opening act," Will admitted, "But none of them have wowed me in the way that you have. From the first moment that I heard you I knew that you would be perfect for this."

Rachel simply stood there. Eyes wide, trying to process everything that Will was saying. She felt like she was in some sort of weird dream world. It was almost as if she was having an out of body experience. Rachel could see and hear everything Will was saying, but she couldn't react.

"Now I know that this is a lot to take in and you probably want some time to process everything, but unfortunately the one thing we do not have is time. And by no means am I going to force you into anything, but I will do anything to make sure that you don't walk out that door without saying yes. So, what do I need to do to get you to agree?" Will asked.

Still shocked, but realizing that this WAS really happening to her, Rachel some how pulled herself together enough to start asking questions.

"So…you really own a record label?" Rachel asked, curious about how legitimate this guy was.

"Yes, I do. Here," Will responded, pulling a business card out of his wallet and handing it to Rachel.

Sure enough, stated in black ink was: Will Schuester, CEO of New Directions. Rachel knew about the record label, it was one of the biggest in the country and some of her favourite artists were signed to it and the name Will Schuester sounded familiar, so she decided to believe that Will really was who he claimed to be.

"And you want me to open for Needless Addiction on their upcoming world tour?" Rachel questioned, still trying to grasp all that was happening.

"Yes! You would be perfect," Will said, nodding his head encouragingly.

"Ok. And how long would this tour last?" Rachel asked, looking for as much information as she could get about the situation.

"A year. The tour is set to last a year. It is mainly a North American tour, but a few months will be spent in Europe towards the end," Will quickly answered.

He was hoping that all of this curiosity meant that Rachel was seriously considering his proposition. Will was willing to share any information Rachel wanted as long she was considering his offer.

"A year. Wow. What about my jobs? I mean, I don't think either would be too pleased if I asked for a year off," Rachel wondered.

Since moving to New York she was always more aware of money and she was not in a place where she could just leave her two jobs to travel the world performing for a year.

"Well, you wouldn't need the jobs anymore. You would be paid to go on tour – probably more that what you would make in two years working here," Will replied, "And after the tour I would like to sign you and start to produce records."

"So I would be paid to perform even though I have no training and you want to sign me to your record label?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"Yes, you will absolutely be compensated for your work on tour and if things go well on tour, which I have a feeling they will, then yes. I would be thrilled to sign you and start working on producing albums," Will said, rather enthusiastically.

He was sure that Rachel was going to walk out the door as Needless Addictions new opening act.

"What will happen to my apartment during the year," Rachel wondered, "And you said that you were from LA. How could you produce an album for me if I am here in New York? Do you have an office here or something?"

Smiling at the fact that Rachel had just basically agreed without actually saying the words Will knew all that was left was formalities.

"Well, I would intend for you to move to LA. And as for your apartment I would have some of my people put it up on the market and once it sold I would have them transport all of your things to the LA apartment they found for you, so that it could all be waiting for you upon your return for the tour," he replied calmly.

Rachel was speechless for a moment.

"Move. To LA. You want me to move to LA?" Rachel questioned.

"Yes," Will said simply.

"Just give up my apartment and life here and move across the country?" Rachel continued.

"Well, yes," Will replied, "What's holding you back? Surely you can't want to be a maid forever."

Rachel thought about her tiny studio apartment. It was cramped, but she was proud of it, as it was the first place that was her own. She thought about her two jobs, neither was a career and they didn't make her happy.

"No. No, I don't want to be a maid – or a waitress forever," Rachel answered, as all these thoughts passed through her mind, "And your company would handle my apartment and the move?"

"Yes. Everything would be taken care of for you. However, you would be able to approve the new apartment they found for you, just to make sure you like it for when you return," Will said.

Rachel had come to New York looking for something better than the opportunities offered back home. After a final moment of deliberation she finally admitted to herself that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that she would forever regret giving up. And who knows, maybe this would be the something more she had been searching for.

With a firm nod of her head and a wide smile on her face Rachel announced her decision.

"I'll do it."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Do not own Glee.

Heading to the airport Rachel watches the New York landscape whiz by and realizes for the first time that she won't see the city that she has called home for the last two years until the tour stops here in a few months.

She thinks about the large suitcase and duffle bag sitting in the back of the SUV that Will arranged for her to take to the airport. They hold all of her clothes and any belongings that she wants to take on tour. Everything else is still in her apartment for the movers to take care of.

As the car pulls up to the airport she thinks about how much her life has changed in the last twenty-four hours.

After finishing discussing travel and tour details with Will, Rachel had resigned from the hotel and on her way home had stopped in at the coffee shop to give her resignation there as well.

She didn't tell anyone the real reason why she was resigning, sure that they wouldn't believe a word she said – hell, Rachel herself couldn't believe all that was happening and it was happening to her!

Thinking about all this left her head spinning.

After the driver opened the door for her, Rachel quickly hopped out of the mammoth vehicle, thanked the driver and offered him an appreciative smile as he handed over her luggage.

Lifting the duffle bag onto her shoulder and pulling her suitcase along behind her, Rachel walked towards the entrance, taking one last look at the busy New York streets before turning to walk through the airport doors, ready to start her new life.

…

The members of Needless Addiction and the New Directions team stood in the airport waiting for the new opening act, the last member of their travel group, to arrive.

It was very early in the morning so the group was rather quiet. The band members giving their best attempts at sleeping while standing up, while the New Directions team were busy typing away on their phones.

Finally giving up on his attempt to sleep while vertical, Puck looked down at his phone noting how fuckin' early it was and cursing Will for booking a flight so damn early.

While he was happy to be going home to his apartment and all of his things, before being whisked away on a yearlong world tour, Puck didn't find it particularly necessary to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to do so.

His mood was not improved in the slightest when he thought about whom they were waiting for.

Puck was still pissed about Will picking the opening act without anyone else even hearing or seeing her.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Will or his ability to identify talent, he had after all signed Puck - which obviously showed good taste, but Puck just wasn't sold on the whole idea of having a female opening act.

The band had worked so hard to earn the credibility of being a genuine rock band that he didn't want all that credibility to be flushed down the drain by having some wannabe pop princess, that thinks fuckin' Demi Lovato is a rocker, open for them.

Puck actually loved being on tour. A new city practically every night, which meant an endless supply of women who were ready and more than willing to have a good time.

What's not to love about that?

Plus, nothing made him feel more badass than standing on stage playing his guitar and singing, looking out into a stadium packed with people and hearing his name being screamed by hundreds of different hot girls.

Truly there is nothing like it. And he doesn't need some bitchy, stuck up chick to come and ruin it with all of her drama and crazy hormones.

Will had ensured the entire group that this girl had an incredible voice, but had refused to comment on what she looked like, when Puck had questioned him about it.

Puck was pretty sure that Will's refusal meant that this chick was ugly – why else wouldn't the guy give even a vague description.

He also wasn't sold on this chick having an 'incredible' voice until he heard it for himself.

They had been auditioning girls for months and hadn't even found any good contenders and then magically Will finds this girl with an amazing voice, not even at an audition, and immediately gives her the position of opening act without even consulting anyone else.

Yeah, Puck had not been pleased.

Actually he had been downright pissed.

The only positive thing about the entire situation is that after the auditions for the rest of the night had been cancelled, Puck had been able to work out some of his frustrations with that busty hotel clerk – Taylor, Tammy, Tracey ? whatever her name was.

However, even after a night of hot angry sex, Puck was still pissed off.

His anger seemingly enhanced by his displeasure of being up at such a god-awful hour.

Impatience building, Puck was just about to check his phone again, to see how much longer they would have to wait for this chick to show up when he heard Will call out in a tone much to upbeat for such an early hour.

"Rachel! There you are! How are you this morning?" Will greeted happily.

Turning to see just who this mystery chick was, after suddenly remembering that Will had mentioned that her name was Rachel Berry earlier, Puck's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

Walking toward them and clearly the recipient of Will's greeting was a gorgeous brunette.

Seriously, this chick was tiny, but her body was smokin'.

She had mile long legs covered by worn jeans that had a hole in one knee, showing a peak of creamy tan skin and knee high black leather boots. A fitted grey v-neck that hinted at just the right amount of cleavage showed off her narrow waist and flat stomach. She topped it off with a brown leather jacket, as there was still a chill in the early spring, New York air and had her hair up in a messy bun with a few pieces falling free, framing her face. Her deep brown eyes were wide and expressive and her face seemed to be bare of any makeup.

Puck was so caught up in the surprising hotness of this Rachel chick that he missed the short conversation that had gone on between Rachel and Will.

However, he quickly zone back in once he realized that Will was making introductions.

"…and as I'm sure you already know, this is Finn, Sam, Mike, and Puck of Needless Addiction," Will finished with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you all," Rachel responded in a soft, slightly overwhelmed tone.

Puck scoffed.

"Yeah, like you didn't spend all night googling us," he said gruffly, with a hint of distain.

The group was momentarily silenced with the abrupt and rude nature of Puck's comment.

Everyone but Rachel knew that Puck was not pleased with the decision, but no one – not even his band mates, who knew him extremely well, were expecting such an outburst at the first meeting.

Just as Will was about to speak to try and do damage control, Rachel cut in.

"While I do know who you are – I know nothing other than that you are members of Needless Addiction and which instruments you play," Rachel responded evenly.

"I figured since you would be meeting me without any background information, I wouldn't research any about you guys – even playing field and all," she finished with a small shrug, seemingly unfazed by Puck's comment.

After working as a maid in an upscale hotel Rachel was used to people making assumptions and rude comments. Now they just rolled off her back without even offending or fazing her.

"Well, that was really cool of you," Sam responded, always the peacemaker.

"I respect that," he added, offering Rachel a genuine, impressed smile.

Rachel smiled softly back at Sam, while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, noticing that everyone was looking at her and suddenly becoming very uncomfortable with all of the attention.

Not wanting to give Puck the opportunity to make another rude comment, Will quickly ushered the group to the security lines, as they already had their boarding passes.

"Come on, let's get a move on. Once we get through security we can wait in the private lounge until our flight is ready to board," he said, motioning in front of himself, signaling that the others should start moving toward the security area.

As the two coordinators and Rachel started towards the security lines, the boys motioned for Will to go ahead and they stayed back a bit.

Once the other group was out of earshot, Sam swiftly slapped Puck upside the head.

"What the hell?" cried Puck.

Sam just gave him a look.

"Fuck dude. Seriously, what's got your panties in a twist?" Puck questioned, not at all pleased at having been slapped upside the head for no reason at this ungodly hour.

"You didn't have to be such an asshole to her," Sam replied simply.

"What?" replied a shocked Puck.

He quickly looked around at his other two band mates to see if this was joke, but neither was holding back smiles or laughter. They just stared back at him.

"Ok, what the actual fuck?" questioned a bewildered Puck, "You guys are suddenly on board with having to deal with some chick and all of her crazy hormones and drama for the next year?"

Sensing Puck's confusion and underlying anger, Mike cut in to try and stop him from getting any more pissed off.

"No man, that's not what Sam is saying. None of us are thrilled with the idea of having a girl as our opening act, especially since we have worked so hard to build a reputation as a legitimate rock band, but Will has already made the decision. This chick is coming on tour with us and there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to deal," Mike explained evenly, in a slightly resigned tone.

"Besides, she actually doesn't seem all that bad," Sam said.

"I mean she didn't take any of your bullshit – actually she basically told you off, but was polite and totally non-bitchy about it," he finished with an impressed tone.

"And she's totally hot," Finn stated blatantly.

All the other guys laughed at Finn's statement, as it seemed that he had only just finished processing the fact that this Rachel chick was actually quite attractive.

"Finn's right man," Mike said clapping Puck on the back.

"And travelling around the world with a hot chick for the next year definitely can't be all bad," he finished as he started to follow the path Will and the others had taken to the security line.

Finn and Sam followed quickly along, while Puck took on a slower pace, lagging behind as he contemplated what they boys had said.

While this chick may be hot and it may not be all bad, Puck wasn't so sure just how good the whole situation was either.

Will may be convinced that this Rachel was perfect and the other guys may be willing to just go along with it, but Puck was stubborn and it was going to take a lot more to convince him that this chick wasn't just going to fuck everything up.

For fuck sakes, she's supposed to be the opening act on HIS band's tour and he hadn't even heard her sing.

As far as Puck knew this chick could be a psychotic bitch and have the screeching voice of a fuckin' banshee.

What Puck did know though, was that this chick had a lot to prove and he wasn't going to make it easy for her.

A/N: So Puck and Rachel have finally met! What did you guys think? They will start having a lot more interaction now and you will start to learn a bit more about the characters and their different relationships and backgrounds. Also some new characters will start to be introduced. The basis for the story is finally set, now some more exciting and interesting things can start to happen. I hope that you are enjoying it so far and I appreciate all of your kind comments, please continue to leave them - they are the best inspiration!


	4. Chapter 4

Upon entering her hotel room Rachel promptly dumped her bag by the door, kicked off her shoes, and rather gracelessly flopped onto the king size bed.

She was exhausted. She had been in LA for three weeks and all of her time was consumed by the tour and all the preparation it needed.

The first few days she had sat with Will in his office going over legalities and contracts, then once all of that was sorted out, they went over the tour in more detail (the number of shows, where they would be playing, how they would be travelling) and started focusing on what exactly she would be performing.

As she was the opening act for a rock band, but she didn't have any material of her own, Will explained that she would be performing covers of rock songs. Rachel was excited, she loved all kinds of music, but rock, specifically classic rock, was her favorite. It was the kind of music she listened to and sung along to growing up, so she felt very comfortable with the material.

Rachel, Will, and his top music producer had come up with a set list of what Rachel would be performing. However, both Will and the producer had agreed to leave the set list open to change based upon Rachel's preferences throughout the tour.

With the set list figured out, Rachel started rehearsals. They were exhausting.

There wasn't any choreography or anything like that, for which she was grateful, but there was still a lot to learn. She and a producer had to work out how each song should sound and then make changes throughout the process if certain things weren't working.

Rachel had to remember all the lyrics and all of the musical cues for each different song, something that she found to be a little overwhelming.

Not to mention the fact that she felt like her vocal chords were so stretched that she could wrap them around the world no less than a dozen times. Rachel was positive that she had never sung as much in her entire twenty years on this earth, as she had in the past two weeks of rehearsal.

However, she was feeling more comfortable and confident in rehearsal every day. At first she had been a little timid, as singing to live music and hearing solely her voice, was something completely new to her and had taken Rachel some getting used to. It was a totally different experience then singing along to her iPod while cleaning or driving in the car, but she was adjusting and learning how to let herself get lost in the music.

Tomorrow would be her first day free of rehearsal. After two and a half weeks of rehearsing all day every day, Rachel was thankful for the break, even if she would be spending the day with a styling team working on her "look" for the tour.

She had never been much into hair and makeup or fashion, always feeling most comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt. Plus, Rachel had spent the last two years working two jobs just to pay the rent, so she hadn't had much money to spend on luxuries.

She was a little apprehensive about tomorrow, not really sure what to expect, but Tina, a young Asian girl working as part of the PR team for the tour, had told Rachel that she was good friends with the stylists and ensured her that the styling duo were great – both at their jobs and as people.

Tina was around Rachel's age and although she dressed in an edgy, gothic style she was actually very friendly and sweet.

During Rachel's first week in LA they had run into each other in the elevator. Rachel had just finished with another long day of meetings and she was feeling overwhelmed and drained. She planned on heading back to the hotel to try and refuel for what she knew would be more of the same the next day, but when she entered into the elevator to go down to the lobby Rachel recognized the young Asian girl from a meeting a few days prior.

Apparently her faced conveyed how overwhelmed and exhausted she felt because Tina invited her to go out for a drink and said she wouldn't take no for an answer because if any two people in LA needed a drink it was the two of them – the over worked and underpaid assistant PR and the last minute opening act for a famous rock band's world tour, who was about as green as a performer could come.

Liking how blunt and upfront the girl was, Rachel had agreed, happy to be seeing some part of LA other than her hotel room or boardrooms. They went back to Tina's place, as Rachel was not yet legal, and talked and laughed getting to know one another over drinks.

Tina told Rachel about her dream of becoming a PR representative, maybe even opening her own firm one day, and how she was thrilled to be working in the field that she wanted to make a career in – even if it was just as an assistant, which basically meant she ran errands, got coffee, answered the phone, and took notes.

When Tina asked about how she had become the opening act for such an amazing band on a world tour, Rachel had recounted the whole story about how Will had heard her singing in the hotel bathroom while she cleaned and had offered her the chance to be the opening act and a day later she was on a plane to LA.

They really hit it off and had had coffee a few times over the last couple of weeks when their schedules had permitted. Tina was the closest thing to a friend Rachel had out here in LA and so far she couldn't see any reason to doubt her, so Rachel decided to trust that the stylists she would be meeting tomorrow would be as great as Tina said they would be.

Finally mustering up the energy to get up off the bed Rachel walked into the en suite bathroom, which was easily the size of her entire apartment back in New York, took a nice long shower, then ordered room service (which was included in her free stay at the hotel provided by the record label) and went to bed early, knowing that if she would be spending the whole day trying on clothes and different things then she would need as much energy as possible.

….

The next morning Rachel was walking down the sidewalk, soaking up some LA sun and enjoying her second cup of coffee. She looked down at the address in her hand and saw that it was only a few buildings ahead, with a sleek black and silver sign above the door that read H.J Styles.

Relieved to have found the place without any trouble, Rachel slipped the piece of paper back into her pocket and took the last sip of her coffee before opening the door and entering into the posh reception area.

Everything was either black or silver and it was all very modern. The reception desk appeared to be empty and the long hallway, which was the only thing you could see from the reception area, seemed to be empty as well.

Rachel was about to pull her phone out to check the email with the date and time of her appointment, when all of a sudden she heard a sharp squeal from behind her. She turned around to find a thin man, with porcelain skin and delicate features staring at her.

He was dressed in what Rachel assumed to be all designer clothes and seemed to have a very individual sense of style, but oddly it worked on him. He was wearing a light grey, checkered button down, tucked into fitted red pants, dark grey suede ankle boots, a large broach of what appeared to be a swan and topped the whole look off with a dainty silk looking turquoise scarf that he simply tied around his neck.

The man looked completely styled and slightly overdone, but somehow effortless at the same time. Before Rachel was even done processing the man's outfit, he started talking quickly and excitedly.

"Oh my Dolce, look at you! You are like the perfect blank canvas! This is going to be amazing, just you wait and see!"

Quickly circling Rachel and gently touching the ends of her hair and turning her face from side to side, the man continued his musings.

"Look at all of this dark, gorgeous hair! It doesn't even look like it's ever been dyed before! That is so rare to find these days! And look at those legs – simply endless! Oh! And your eyes – like dark pools of chocolate! And your jaw – so regal! Oh, this is going to be so fun! Fun, fun, fu-"

"Kurt!"

Before the man could finish a beautiful black woman emerged from the hallway. She quickly made her way over to where Rachel and the man she was yet to properly meet were standing.

By this time the man had taken a step back and released Rachel's hair.

"Hello there, you must be Rachel," the woman said pleasantly, while offering her hand to shake, "I'm Mercedes Jones and this is my overly excited partner, Kurt Hummel," she finished with a nod and slight disapproving look towards her male companion.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both," Rachel said, still a little shocked by the earlier happenings, as she shook the woman she now knew as Mercedes' hand.

Sensing that the woman in front of her was still slightly on guard and unsure of the situation after she was subjected to a full frontal assault of Kurt's excitement, Mercedes decided to try and put her at ease.

"I apologize, you will have to excuse Kurt. He is dramatic at the best of times and down right theatric at the worst," Mercedes said, while offering Rachel a reassuring smile.

Visibly starting to relax, Rachel let out a breath and gave a small, yet sincere smile.

"It's ok, really. I was just surprised."

"Oh! Yes, dear, I am very sorry if my – um, enthusiasm, startled you. But, you have no idea the relief and excitement I felt when I saw you standing out here. Seriously, I have been on edge and stressed for the past two weeks!" Kurt said, all while waving his hands around dramatically.

Rachel must have had a lost expression her face, because Mercedes quickly cut in before Kurt could go on anymore.

"The record label didn't give us any information about you – no pictures, no measurements. Not even eye or hair colour. Normally, we have all that information before a styling session so we can properly prepare, but things with you have been so rushed that no one seemed to have the time to share details. It's been all about making sure all the legalities and performances are ready. We haven't even been able to get Tina on the phone for the past two weeks. Anyways, Kurt, being the dramatic that he his, got the idea into his head that the label wasn't giving us any information because you were – well, let's just say, a difficult client," she explained.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad that I'm not going to be a difficult client," Rachel finished with a smile, deciding to just take Kurt's behaviour as a strange, but still flattering, compliment.

"Honey, trust me, even if I hadn't been expecting a 400 pound woman with a mustache, bleach blonde hair, and a sweating problem – I still would have acted like that! You are absolutely gorgeous!" Kurt said, looking Rachel up and down with a big smile on his face.

"Thank you," Rachel replied while looking down at the floor, giggling and blushing.

She had a feeling that while maybe a tad dramatic, she was going to really like Kurt. Mercedes seemed nice too, very sweet. With these realizations Rachel felt some of the tension and nervousness release from her body.

After a moment, Mercedes announced that it was time to get this styling session going and ushered the group into the long hallway she had come from.

….

When Rachel returned to her hotel room that night and looked into the mirror, seeing her face framed by the blunt bangs, reaching past her eyebrows, and long layers Mercedes had cut into her hair earlier that day, she couldn't help but feel like the final transition was complete. No longer was she Rachel, the waitress and maid, but rather Rachel, opening act for Needless Addiction.


End file.
